Auto & Car Blog

Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Hybrid, Toyota

The last announcement we have from Toyota this morning is a price reduction on replacement Prius batteries. Both first-gen and second-gen NiMH packs will now be at least ten percent cheaper to replace than before. The new prices for the packs are $2,299 for the 2000-2003 model years and $2,588 for the 2004-2008 model years. This is down from a previous price of $2,985 for either model. Toyota said that “technology and volume related advancements” were responsible for the price decrease.

While current Prius owners who need a fresh power set should be pleased with this news, a more important tidbit for everyone is the news that Toyota is considering - “studying the business case for,” as the release puts it - remanufacturing Prius batteries right here in North America as as way to make them even cheaper in the future. If Toyota does want to build and sell those million hybrids a year, having more ways to make batteries is a good thing.

[Source: Toyota]

Continue reading Buying Prius replacement batteries just got cheaper

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Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Hybrid, Legislation and Policy

The State of Wisconsin will give Johnson Controls-Saft a half-million dollar grant to aid in the development of hybrid battery technology, it was announced yesterday. The grant is part of Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle’s Clean Energy Wisconsin Plan, and requires Johnson Controls-Saft to invest $500,000 of its own money - I wouldn’t be surprised it it goes into the company’s Battery Technology Center in Milwaukee - to get the matching funds from the state. The company says it was given the grant “specifically for the advanced technology R&D and commercialization efforts for lithium-ion hybrid vehicle batteries.” Johnson Controls-Saft is also building li-ion batteries in France and got $8.2 million from the “ignorant” federal government.

[Source: Johnson Controls]

Continue reading Wisconsin gives Johnson Controls-Saft $500,000 for hybrid battery tech

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Filed under: Emerging Technologies, Hydrogen

Battery manufacturer Grupo Cegasa has announced plans to lead a team of fifteen companies in a four-year co-operative effort to improve upon current hydrogen fuel-cell technology. Two different types of cells will be the main focus of the project; polymer membrane and solid oxide fuel cells. In particular, reducing the cost to manufacture fuel-cells and improving the length of their operating life are seen as key factors in taking fuel-cells mainstream.

Analysis: Cegasa, which operates two modern manufacturing plants to produce alkaline and zinc-chloride batteries, sees hydrogen fuel-cells as taking over from traditional battery technologies and are making their play to ensure they have a piece of the fuel-cell market in the future. It will be interesting to see how successful this consortium of internationally diverse companies is in meeting their goals.

Related:

• Forbes on Altairnano: “pretender no more”
• Department of Energy to kick $14 million for PHEV battery research
• Degussa to exhibit LiIon equipped Civic hybrid at SAE Congress

[Source: H2 Daily]

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Flex-Fuel, Hybrid, AutoblogGreen Q & A, AutoblogGreen Exclusive

Click on the image for a gallery of 29 images of the VentureOne concept and the Carver three-wheeler.

This is the second part in an interview with Ian Bruce, founder of Venture Vehicles, where he talks about safety aspects of the VentureOne concept, and projected sales growth. In the first part of the interview, Ian shared with us his background with Venture Vehicles, and comments on the design of the VentureOne. Click here to go to part one of the interview.

If you haven’t already, be sure to read our guide to the VentureOne first as background to this insightful interview.

ABG: Is the small internal combustion engine used in the hybrid variant taken straight out of a motorbike? What flex-fuel capabilities does it have?

IB: The genset is the other main component in our series-hybrid configuration, and we have a great deal of flexibility in choosing the final configuration. The principal requirement is that it run efficiently while generating a sustained 15kW using standard gasoline, E100, or any blend in between. We only require a small sensor in the fuel system that can detect the relative percentage of ethanol in the fuel and adjust the injection volumes to suit. We plan to use the airflow from the battery cooling system to keep the fuel lines and engine at a minimum temperature, and avoid any cold weather start-up problems associated with E100.

Interview continues after the jump.
Click on the image for a gallery of 29 images of the VentureOne concept and the Carver three-wheeler.

This is the second part in an interview with Ian Bruce, founder of Venture Vehicles, where he talks about safety aspects of the VentureOne concept, and projected sales growth. In the first part of the interview, Ian shared with us his background with Venture Vehicles, and comments on the design of the VentureOne. Click here to go to part one of the interview.

If you haven’t already, be sure to read our guide to the VentureOne first as background to this insightful interview.

ABG: Is the small internal combustion engine used in the hybrid variant taken straight out of a motorbike? What flex-fuel capabilities does it have?

IB: The genset is the other main component in our series-hybrid configuration, and we have a great deal of flexibility in choosing the final configuration. The principal requirement is that it run efficiently while generating a sustained 15kW using standard gasoline, E100, or any blend in between. We only require a small sensor in the fuel system that can detect the relative percentage of ethanol in the fuel and adjust the injection volumes to suit. We plan to use the airflow from the battery cooling system to keep the fuel lines and engine at a minimum temperature, and avoid any cold weather start-up problems associated with E100.

Interview continues after the jump.

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BOLD MOVES: THE FUTURE OF FORD Step behind the curtain at Ford Motor. Experience the documentary first-hand.

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Solar Bug is a car that resembles a telephone set and incorporates solar energy with electric energy for driving itself. The car will now be set to production and will be made available for sale in 2007 for $8,500 .
The new car will be entitled to…

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